New Rubbermaids look very promising for enclosure conversions!!!

[Riverside Reptiles]

:idea:These new tubs from Rubbermaid look like they'll be great for many terrestrial geckos. They also may work well for small arboreals and perhaps even turned vertical. Clear doors and front opening built in. Ability to self stack or be used on shelves. The plastic is easy to clean. Light weight. Very easy to add a screen section to the lid for light and/or ventilation from above if wanted/needed. I'm excited to grab a few and play with them a bit. I think they're going to end up being a very popular product for herpers. I'll be interested to see what the DIYers around here can come up with for designs. Post pics and ideas to this thread. :idea:

Here's a link to the Rubbermaid site with dimensions and other details:
All Access? Organizers | Storage Boxes | Rubbermaid

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

This is similar to one of the concepts that I had in mind for doubling the space and making them big enough for larger arboreals. Jay from Uroplatus-Specialties beat me to it though! These are his photos and posted here with his permission. I think that we'll see a lot of cool future reengineering of these into vivariums both horizontally and vertically oriented in the future.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us



Uploaded with ImageShack.us

 

[MC gecko]

This is the rubbermaid with a look and a perfect size, there are ways to make beautiful setup with this backs.

Thanks for sharing !

MC gecko

 

[yeahcastro]

These look awesome. How would I heat this for a leopard gecko?

 

[MC gecko]

You can heat with a heating cable or a heating pad installed on a thermostat.

MC gecko

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I've ordered a couple of the large sized ones direct from Rubbermaid. Hopefully they'll get here this week sometime. They didn't send me any sort of tracking number or anything though, so I don't know how long it'll take.

 

[MdngtRain]

i may have to check those out.... not that I know who to use them for, but they may work well for supplies in the closet... maybe stacked like that would work for the tokays... hmmm.... Thanks for the info!!

 

[MdngtRain]

so, I saw these at target last night, and I was pushing and pulling on various points to test strength/weakness.
I found the door, while it does have a primitive latch, has the potential to bow when pushed on from the inside (especially at the bottom edge). Also, the "latch" can easily be knocked out of place on one side or the other by an industrious gecko...
I was hoping to get something like this set up for my tokays and maybe a few cresties, but I worry about the weaker points mentioned. While they have great potential, I would be interested in hearing how anyone else may be re-enforcing these points of potential escape. I think it would work well for a smaller gecko species though, or ones that are more lazy and less hell-bent on escape...
I like the idea of stacking them, so may yet try it out for cresteds at some point, just need to figure out how to ensure the doors stay closed.
Has anyone else tried them out in person? What was your experience with them like?
They would also work really well for my closet storage problem with the herp supplies, so even if I don't convert any to cages, I may just get some for storage.

 

[MdngtRain]

I've ordered a couple of the large sized ones direct from Rubbermaid. Hopefully they'll get here this week sometime. They didn't send me any sort of tracking number or anything though, so I don't know how long it'll take.

The latch seems to rely on gravity to hold it in place, how did Jay get it to stay latched even upside down?

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I got mine in the mail. The latch is an easy fix. It can be something as simple as a pin that slides through a hole. But there's a million different little latches that can be purchased cheaply and easily at the hardware store. Like any conversion, they're going to take a bit of work. But having a pre-made front opening door is a god send for those of us that have for years had to cut our own doors, attach hinges, etc. as you have to do with a normal rubbermaid conversion.

I got a pair of the large and haven't really had a chance to play with them much yet, but I see a ton of potential for all sorts of species to be housed in these. Much easier to convert than a standard rubbermaid tub.

 

[Marauderhex]

Any reviews on how these are holding up? I am thinking about trying a pair out for a toke enclosure if y'all have had some success with them.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

I'm using the two that I got almost "as is" for some juvie tokays right now. I simply drilled some holes in the top and sides for some air flow. And I added a piece of quarter round trim under where the door hinges so that nobody can escape (geckos or bugs) through the small gap. The air flow can be increased by adding some more holes or decreased by putting some duct tape over the existing holes. Seems to be working great at this point for a basic juvie raising enclosure. You could certainly use it for a ton of different species. Well worth $16 IMO.

 

[Marauderhex]

Awesome. I plan on picking some up this weekend. I have some tokay coming my way from a guy who is moving and thought these might work as QT enclosures/maybe semi-permanent (as in until I get a house).

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

If you are planning to leave something large and arboreal like tokay in there for a fairly long period of time, I'd double them up like Jay did (see page one of this thread) for the double height.

 

[acpart]

Gecko Time would be happy to publish an article with everybody's DIY ideas using these new tubs. If you're interested in participating, please send your information to me at artport@rcn.com. All I ask is that you don't submit exactly the same thing that you post on this thread here.

Thanks,

Aliza

 

[Marauderhex]

If you are planning to leave something large and arboreal like tokay in there for a fairly long period of time, I'd double them up like Jay did (see page one of this thread) for the double height.

That was my plan, so I could get at least 30" of height. I was going to replicate the pictures.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

Aliza, I'd be happy to do something like that, but give it a bit more time to allow for people to play around with them and try out some different stuff.

 

[Conched]

I found these at Home Depot today. The small size was $12.97. The large was a few dollars more. They seem fairly robust and stack nice. Not sure how well they would stack with het tape under them. I might pick up a few to play around with.

 

[acpart]

I'm hoping people who have been playing around with these things will send their ideas in to Gecko Time so I can publish them all, hopefully in August. You can submit here:
Rubbermaid?s New Tub: Submit Your Caging Ideas | Gecko Time

Aliza

 

[gecko lover777]

i bought a clear one from walmart and my gecko loves it she loves climbing on all the sticks that are in there btw mine holds 26 gallons